Latham relying on footage and adaptability

Tom Latham said New Zealand have been analysing available footage of Bangladesh players ahead of the T20I series, particularly as several members of the hosts’ squad are yet to debut in the format.

Bangladesh have included newcomers Ripon Mondol and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, while frontline seamers Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam have been rested for the series, which begins today.

“We’ve seen a bit of footage on the guys. Understand there might be some guys that haven't debuted yet in this format. So I guess when, you know, there's not heaps of information on players that you haven't seen, it’s about trying to adapt as quick as you can,” Latham said during the press conference on Sunday.

The New Zealand skipper was unsure whether this Bangladesh side was the most explosive in the format, but stressed the importance of focusing on their own approach. “It’s about playing what’s in front of us, regardless of the opposition personnel, and making the best decisions from there,” he added.

New Zealand have also made several changes from the ODI side that suffered a 2-1 series defeat. Latham believes those with limited international exposure can rely on their domestic experience.

“We do have guys with international or not as much experience internationally, but they do have a lot of experience domestically. So for them it's just going out, expressing themselves as much as they can, for us playing our brand of cricket, a brand that we want to play, and obviously adapting,” he concluded.